Not much is known about Carmella Gustaferre except that she was an Italian immigrant to Chicago. She attended an English class at the Hull House where she was assigned to write an essay on "What kind of home I would like to have." Her essay was published in the magazine Survey on July 18, 1914.

In 1889, Jane Addams had opened Hull House in the worst slum district on the West Side of Chicago. Addams and her associates developed programs to educate and improve the living conditions of immigrants--about half the population of Chicago at the time.